Page 193 of The White King's Favorite

Nodding with guilt all over his face, Darsan put his sword against the wall. Sadly, though, the large blade slid right down before loudly collapsing onto the pile, making a bigger mess and breaking it even more. He sighed.

“Uh... Sorry about that too, I guess...”

Elder Olea was now sending daggers at him with her eyes. Cessilia hardly repressed a little laugh, despite her brother’s wrongdoings. Darsan was probably not exactly the kind of heroic Dragon Master they had admired and worshiped for decades...

“I-I’ll help you pick it up!”

To everyone’s surprise, Naptunie ran over to start gathering the fallen weapons. She pulled the smaller ones she could carry first, putting them back where they belonged, and gently instructed Darsan to grab this one or that one, so he could do it instead. Cessilia smiled. Not only had Naptunie managed to memorize where each piece belonged before the incident, but she was now managing things so that Darsan was carefully taking one piece at a time under her direction, obeying and following her every word. If she could manage Darsan, maybe Dran would finally get a bit tamer as well...

Cessilia turned to the two Cheshi women, as if the incident was a minor thing. The armor might have been incredibly precious to the Cheshi, but dragon scales were still just a small part left behind by some of her ancestors. The knowledge of how to craft these was probably more precious than the parts themselves.

“Th-thank you for helping us,” she finally said. “It must have b-been hard for your people, after all this t-time.”

“Not that hard,” Elder Olea shook her head, although her eyes were still watching Darsan. “In fact, those only rightfully belong to you, Princess Cessilia. Our real help will be our men, following you into the fight.”

“R-really?”

“We’re assembling them as we speak!” Aglithia nodded. “Father gave the orders already. Two hundred Cheshi assassins will be at your command!”

“...That’s it?”

They turned to Darsan, who immediately grimaced, probably remembering he should watch himself after breaking a third of the room...

“I-I mean, there’s a whole bunch of Yekaras out there,” he said. “They are warriors, and from what we heard, at least three times that!”

“That’s all we can offer,” replied Elder Olea. “Our clan is always prepared to survive, but not for an actual war. We are assassins and spies, not warriors. This won’t be any common war like before, either. As you know, the Yekara have already seized control of the Inner Capital.”

“What d-do you know exactly?” asked Cessilia.

“They corrupted a lot of the Royal Guards,” explained Aglithia. “Not only that, but we suspect they also hid a lot of the Kunu Tribe survivors, so they might have a lot more people on their side than what we first thought. Also, last night, they broke into the Pangoja’s residences and robbed them, claiming they had defied the King, and were arrested. We noticed they took a lot of money in and out of the Capital, though. We suspect they are preparing an army of mercenaries willing to fight for money, just like what happened when King Ashen fought his father.”

“They also threatened to burn down the houses of the people who resisted,” sighed Elder Olea. “They are still searching the houses, not only for you and your allies, my lady, but for people who could defy them, like the Royal Guards who refused to be corrupted, or the leaders of the other tribes.”

“Most tribes already barricaded themselves inside their houses, or had their leaders flee or hide. Sadly, most tribes won’t do a thing if there’s no one to guide them. The people of the Capital are terrified too. Many heard that King Ashen was heavily injured, but a lot are afraid that if he dies, the Yekara will impose their rule.”

“What did they say?” asked Naptunie, who had come back to Cessilia’s side. “What will they do to our people? What about my tribe?”

Aglithia turned to her with a sorry expression. She sighed, and slowly shook her head.

“They will make public executions,” said Aglithia. “They already arrested a lot of people, and from what our spies gathered, the Yekara will start executing them to scare anyone who’d try to oppose them. They want to keep control of the Inner Capital without a fight, and then aim for the Outer Capital and its surroundings.”

“They are scared of our dragons!” shouted Darsan. “They wouldn’t use such a cowardly tactic of taking so many hostages if they weren’t scared we would fry all those bastards where they stand!”

“Th-that’s our main issue,” muttered his sister. “We c-can’t use Kian or Krai if they k-keep the fight in the streets of the C-Capital, Darsan. Our d-dragons could injure the people there...”

“Pff,” said her brother, shrugging. “Cowards, I tell you. Don’t worry, though, we’ll find a way. In fact, why don’t we just use this to our advantage? We know where the bastards are. It’s so much easier than when we have to pull those damn Northerners down from their mountains for a proper fight!”

Cessilia thought about his words, and realized that he might be right. Like her older brother had said, the Yekara had taken control of the Inner Capital, but because of the city’s unique configuration, that meant they knew exactly where they were and the fight wouldn’t scatter to several fronts. In fact, it wouldn’t necessarily turn into an all-out war.

“...We’re g-going to need a map,” she suddenly declared to the Cheshi women. “A very accurate m-map, and as much information as you c-can get us about the Yekara.”

“Of course. We will put everything you need at your disposal. Aglithia, you and the triplets stay with Lady Cessilia. I will make sure we are ready when they need us.”

“Understood, Grandmother.”

Then, Cessilia turned to Darsan and Naptunie.

“We should p-pick the armor we will use for the fight. For you, Darsan, and Kassian, T-Tessa, myself, and Ashen t-too. Nana, you t-too.”

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